# In my foolish youth, I said "Country Music sucks". Now I know better. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870 "2018-11-02T00:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/21 "2018-11-02T03:28:55Z")
You’d probably like the Bloodshot Records lineup. > **[Welcome to Bloodshot](https://www.bloodshotrecords.com)** > > Chicago-based record label that has served as home to great independent artists since 1994. They often have free samplers in Amazon music. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/22 "2018-11-02T03:52:34Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Heh, in my early youth, I was raised on country/western, novelty songs and show tunes. That’s where I learned that there’s good and bad in any form, no matter the age. My current recent favorite is [Sturgill Simpson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiMMLdcSLig). He gets it. [His cover of Nirvana’s In Bloom is an amazing interpretation.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpDYfkymaSE) There’s also The Civil Wars, here taking on The Smashing Pumpkins [Disarm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWWqoHZmUd0). And there’s also The Steeldrivers, whose [If It hadn’t been For Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OG8Y7wDUVo) I found by going backwards from Adele. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/23 "2018-11-02T03:57:17Z")
And The Dead South, [In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OG8Y7wDUVo). ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/24 "2018-11-02T04:15:41Z")
Damn it!😃 You guys got me looking at Telecasters again.:rolleyes: I haven’t had a good one yet, and wordman’s clips keep poppin up on my youtube.🆒😃 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/25 "2018-11-02T04:32:48Z")
I third Dwight Yoakam. Was never into Country but an old roommate turned me on to some cool old stuff, Yoakam was about the only newer guy who stood out as in their league. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/26 "2018-11-02T04:37:14Z")
Drive by Truckers are awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/27 "2018-11-02T05:23:30Z")
Country music has become successful. And success will hurt any genre. When a genre of music is marginal, the only people who are performing it are the people who love it. But if a genre of music gets popular, it will attract a lot of mediocre performers who are only looking to become rich and famous. You can still find great music in a popular genre but you have to search for it under a mountain of hackwork. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/28 "2018-11-02T06:03:37Z")
> [@K364](#): > > I’m still dubious about top-40 Country. But around the Edges and down in the Roots I’ve discovered some of the best music I’ve ever heard. > > Whether pure twang or slight twang or whatever there is a connection to simple values and emotions that ring so true. > > Here are some examples. Please post more if you can. > > [Blackie and the Rodeo Kings featuring Serena Ryder perform Black Sheep](https://youtu.be/a_QFzElL_34) > [Forever Young - Audra Mae & The Forest Rangers](https://youtu.be/AaPEe4EwTEU) > [Jerusalem’s Ridge - Mark O’Connor with Kenny Baker](https://youtu.be/wvIbEXR5Ob0) > [The Civil Wars - Dance Me to the End of Love](https://youtu.be/W0LZ4wMV3zw) > [Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel - Northern Lights](https://youtu.be/KKS4fnJ4gGw) > [Sally Timms - When the Roses Bloom Again](https://youtu.be/nH1nE9P1dE4) > [Shawn Colvin - Crazy](https://youtu.be/A7ITHanhV6A) > [John Prine and Iris DeMent - In Spite of Ourselves](https://youtu.be/P8tTwXv4glY) > [Gene Clark & Carla Olson - Gypsy Rider](https://youtu.be/jqhQ7T92Wu4) [A few thoughts on the subject…](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=stVNdLmKGYw) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/29 "2018-11-02T09:41:46Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > …stop at anything after garth brooks ……. I’m almost tempted to say stop at anything after Hank Williams\*. I used to write off Willie Nelson, but lately I’ve come to appreciate some of his older music (Red Headed Stranger is very nice). I also quite enjoy a lot of Lyle Lovett’s stuff. mmm \*unless we are grouping John Prine into country ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/30 "2018-11-02T10:16:45Z")
Growing up in the UK I despised country music at the time, but that was because country music - at least the stuff we heard on the radio back then - was despicable. It took me at least 30 years to get over the prejudice, and it was a very strange and difficult moment when I bit the bullet and first bought a country album (Hank Williams - so starting off properly). I’ll suggest Gram Parsons (to annoy purists) and Gillian Welch (to pacify them?). And I’ll take a moment to observe that, even with the best of them, country often walks the knife edge between sublime and appalling. I occasionally idle away moments by compiling a mental list of singer/songwriters who have a realistic claim of being responsible for both the best and worst records of all time. Almost all country artists. I Walk The Line/Boy Named Sue, for example. j ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/31 "2018-11-02T11:04:38Z")
> [@K364](#): > > Whether pure twang or slight twang or whatever there is a connection to simple values and emotions that ring so true. I think the sentiment about country music expressed here has become my #1 reason for despising the genre as a whole. The whole “simple values” (being rural, simplistic, and likely white) and “emotions” (loving America, your dog, truck, and America in that order and sadness at losing your woman) canard about country music really rubs me the wrong way. Especially when many fans dont see those things in other genres (say like in old school rap or alternative music). That said, play me some Patsy Cline or Johnny Cash when I’m in the right mood and I’m a happy Hamlet. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/32 "2018-11-02T11:16:57Z")
The only problem being that I’m not confident that the songs in the OP are Country. Country descends from the sort of music that the Country Bear Jamboree plays: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KH17kF1iZ5o/maxresdefault.jpg "Disneyland The Country Bear Jamboree 2001") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH17kF1iZ5o) Which itself is probably a descendant of this sort of music: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KffX-8tx_Jw/maxresdefault.jpg "Titanic Jack and Rose Real Party") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KffX-8tx_Jw) There is a lot of good “Americana” music being made these days, that one is inclined to call Country, but I think its roots are from Country Blues, Folk, and Bluegrass not so much Country. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACD9NP4D\_pU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHGfHltVY-s Granted, folk and bluegress probably also track back to British and Irish folk music, but I think the split happened sufficiently far back to say that they’re separate from country. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/33 "2018-11-02T11:24:21Z")
Sturgeon’s Law applies here as everywhere, and 90% of country music is indeed crud. But there’s some excellent work in the remaining 10%, including many of the examples listed above. Personally I’m a big fan of Gillian Welch, The Cowboy Junkies and the folk/bluegrass end of the country spectrum. The generic country rock stuff that seems to be the mainstream these days is fairly forgettable overall. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/34 "2018-11-02T11:44:56Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Drive by Truckers are awesome. I would consider them more alt-country than straight up, but as long as we’re going down that route, I’ll add Old 97s. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/35 "2018-11-02T12:34:52Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The only problem being that I’m not confident that the songs in the OP are Country. > … I play in what most people call a bluegrass group (we call ourselves a string band), and at a couple of supposed bluegrass jams - but less than 10% of our material is actually bluegrass. And I’m reminded of the line from the Blues Brothers: “We play BOTH kinds of music - country AND western!” I go to a banjo camp where the lines between bluegrass and oldtime are pretty clearly delineated. But in most situations, the definitions are considerably more fluid. Yeah, Americana is a most descriptive of most eclectic groups, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard that word used casually by non-musicians. Just thought of another newer act - The Supersuckers and their lead Eddie Spaghetti. On different evenings/albums they may play strict rock, or solely country. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/36 "2018-11-02T14:08:55Z")
I used to think that country sucked but really it’s the “God bless America, we simple folk are so much more pure than those city mice” trash that sucks. Once you get out of that treacle pit, you can find some decent stuff, be it country or something country-adjacent. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/37 "2018-11-02T14:21:35Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > if ya want real and true country start at hank Williams SR patsy cline willie nelson George jones and johnny cash and grandmas personal favorite jim reeves …… > stop at anything after garth brooks ……. I dunno. I think Brad Paisley is quite enjoyable. [American Saturday Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvdoKvHYxcA). It’s definitely a “new country” type of song, but I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/38 "2018-11-02T14:30:20Z")
When I was growing up back in the Middle Ages, country music routinely crossed over to the pop charts, especially from artists like Patsy Cline, Marty Robbins, etc. It was just good music and I liked it as much as anything else on the radio. Many of the early rock and roll artists like Carl Perkins, the Everlys, and Elvis came from a country background. Even though I left it behind in the 60s, I still enjoy hearing a lot of the old artists, whereas today’s “country” music does nothing for me, as it’s mostly just rock musicians wearing cowboy hats. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/39 "2018-11-02T14:58:10Z")
I liked country music such as Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn until I was a pre-teen, but in high school there wasn’t a lot of love for country. I got more into metal and the Snoop Dogg/Dr. Dre rap, as did many other people. As an adult I discovered Hank Williams III and his [cover of Cocaine Blues](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmAB2ZF7b7M), then I looked for his influences and contemporaries and found the outlaw and alt-country genres: [Turnpike Troubadours](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQrv-cgfnVw) [Billy Joe Shaver](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXbC6wQbsfY) [John Prine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMNBTc1DQU) [Ray Wylie Hubbard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJm4jNrldek) [Steve Earle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AINUPFbFpqg) [Gram Parsons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PytxPaU6k4) [Uncle Tupelo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMW5374hWnw) And [Loretta Lynn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJAF21K0AFg) is still making music, she sounds great! And of course the other standards, Waylon, Johnny, George Jones, etc. The main place I get my outlaw country is SiriusXM, they have a great channel with some great hosts. YouTube also has plenty. I think modern pop country that you hear on the radio sucks, with a few exceptions like [Miranda Lambert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB7ONnfIjaI), [Jamey Johnson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAplw9CIXuk), and [Chris Stapleton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0mwo-dAABA). ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870/40 "2018-11-02T15:05:38Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I would consider them more alt-country than straight up, but as long as we’re going down that route, I’ll add Old 97s. DBT, Old 97s, and I’ll go ahead and offer The Bottle Rockets, to round out the Alt-Country triumvirate. Almost everything on the Top 40 Country charts and commercial radio stations has been garbage at least since the 90s (I’d go back further to the 80s, but I have a soft spot for George Strait). But around the edges of country proper – the alt-countries, the outlaws, the americanas, the “old-timey” music, the roots rock, the bluegrass and et cetera – has always had tons of top notch music, going back to the very beginning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-my-foolish-youth-i-said-country-music-sucks-now-i-know-better/823870.md?page=3)